U.S. Women [#7]: Make Me a Believer!

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Eteri set the example: as long as you avoid edge calls or under-rotations, ugly technique will be ignored. IJS often misses the forest for the trees.

Unfortunately for Levito, she has been prone to edge calls and underrotations this season, and to a lesser extent last, after largely escaping them previously.
 
Private Citizen said:
I did wonder :sekret: how much was injury, v. taking time to rework and reassess after a disappointing start to the season. Seeing triple loop combos back, after two seasons gone, doesn't lessen my suspicions.
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If she shows us a gorgeous triple lutz tomorrow, then we'll know. :D

I'm not optimistic that the reason she missed competitions was that she's been working on significantly changing her jumping technique. She and her coach have had a lot of time to do that.

She had a big growth spurt last summer and was adjusting to that. Her early competitions weren't good this season, but she won the short program at Skate America. Her jumping technique wasn't changed, but the only jump she flat out missed there was a rushed flip in the long program, and she still medaled and wasn't that far from gold. (A lot of the programs we saw from the women at the GP Final weren't better.) I'm not convinced that her coach's takeaway was that they needed to skip competitions to completely rework her lutz.
 
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Mevedeva won a lot of competitions despite only doing 1 Lutz across both programs. With the Russians gone, it's not a bad strategy for anyone prone to flutzing or UR on the lutz
 
Private Citizen said:
Unfortunately for Levito, she has been prone to edge calls and underrotations this season, and to a lesser extent last, after largely escaping them previously.
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Coco said:
With the Russians gone, it's not a bad strategy for anyone prone to flutzing or UR on the lutz
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Yes. They've been making those kinds of calls much more on a lot of skaters this season. It's one more reason for Isabeau to consider not doing a lutz in the short program.

Lutz technique aside, Isabeau needs to skate faster and be more aggressive this week, but that may be hard for her to do in these circumstances.
 
Allskate said:
Yes. They've been making those kinds of calls much more on a lot of skaters this season. It's one more reason for Isabeau to consider not doing a lutz in the short program.
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They are finally somewhat doing their jobs, which is sad that it comes to that as opposed to just being consistent in the first place.

Anyways, the only skater that really went back and reworked her Lutz technique to be completely different was Rochette, and she already had an otherwise excellent foundation to her jump technique. We saw the results. An entire year of falls on double Lutzes, two-footed landings, and otherwise messes getting lost in the air. In fact, it wasn’t even really until Worlds in 2004 that she got it together- so even more than a year.

Levito isn’t going to build her technique from the ground up again. It would take forever and it would take a reworking of the foundations to her skating itself. She’s not going to do it in 2 months, and she’s not going to do it in a pre-Olympic season where completely losing ground could be the beginning of the end of her Olympic hopes.
 
Didn't Caroline Zhang rework her technique on both the flip and the lutz? She had a mule-kick on both jumps, though it was more pronounced on the flip.
 
tony said:
Anyways, the only skater that really went back and reworked her Lutz technique to be completely different was Rochette, and she already had an otherwise excellent foundation to her jump technique. We saw the results. An entire year of falls on double Lutzes, two-footed landings, and otherwise messes getting lost in the air. In fact, it wasn’t even really until Worlds in 2004 that she got it together- so even more than a year.
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I'd argue Kaetlyn Osmond and Kaori Sakamoto changed their technique enough to go from regularly getting calls to very rarely getting calls. It's a disguise more than a fix, but it was done without total rework and yielded results. That's what Levito needs to aim for, and I do think she can do it within a season. It doesn't have to be pretty; it just has to avoid a call.

Vagabond said:
Didn't Caroline Zhang rework her technique on both the flip and the lutz? She had a mule-kick on both jumps, though it was more pronounced on the flip.
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She reworked the flip, but never the lutz IIRC.
 
No glorious new lutz for Isabeau in the short. :lol: (I definitely wasn't expecting one.) She got an edge call on the lutz. She did, in fact, use the flip in her combo. It wasn't the flip/loop combo she did in practice yesterday. It was just a triple flip/double toe, but at least it was in the positive for GOE. I suspect that she didn't even intend a 3/3 and that her triple flip/triple loop in practice yesterday was intended for a specific audience. She's in second after the short program.

We'll see how fit she is in the long program. (Yes, I know there is still over a month until Worlds and realize she probably is not fully fit yet, but I hope she is on her way.)
 
In an interview after her short program today, Isabeau said that USFS told her she didn't have to do triple-triples at this competition because, due to her injury, she started jumping again only three weeks ago. She hoped to put one in the short program but decided not to because it isn't consistent enough yet.


I think it's smart for her to do this competition, but it can't be fun doing it under these circumstances. On the bright side, she gets to see family and friends while in Milan.
 
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Allskate said:
In an interview after her short program today, Isabeau said that USFS told her she didn't have to do triple-triples at this competition because, due to her injury, she started jumping again only three weeks ago. She hoped to put one in the short program but decided not to because it isn't consistent enough yet.


I think it's smart for her to do this competition, but it can't be fun doing it under these circumstances. On the bright side, she gets to see family and friends while in Milan.
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This whole...only been back on the ice for three weeks thing sounds concerning and USFS telling Isabeau not to attempt triple-triples (at this minor competition) seems like false concern. If she is not yet fit to do triple-triples, why is she competing here at all? If USFS were really in Isabeau's corner, they would advise her to take the rest of the season off to truly heal. We all saw how coming back too soon from injury (and getting the wrong advice) derailed the skating careers of Bradie Tennell and Ting Cui for years. Gracie Gold talked about how 2-faced and cutthroat the USFS is in her book.
 
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None of us know the details of Isabeau's injury, her rehab or current health status. I don't think we can make assertions about what she should or shouldn't be doing.

As for competing here....it's normal for skaters to start out slower when they come back from injury. All things considered, this is a relatively low-powered, low-stakes event, as opposed to 4CC or Worlds. It's an ideal place for Isabeau to build back up. Rehab isn't accidental, any injured athlete has a plan for getting back to where they want to be within a certain amount of time.
 
Debbie S said:
None of us know the details of Isabeau's injury, her rehab or current health status. I don't think we can make assertions about what she should or shouldn't be doing.

As for competing here....it's normal for skaters to start out slower when they come back from injury. All things considered, this is a relatively low-powered, low-stakes event, as opposed to 4CC or Worlds. It's an ideal place for Isabeau to build back up. Rehab isn't accidental, any injured athlete has a plan for getting back to where they want to be within a certain amount of time.
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And wasn’t it entertaining that people were hoping that she was going to come back with a new and improved triple lutz yesterday lol ….. and in reality there’s not even a triple triple in place. anyways, I still love her programs and let’s give her the benefit of the doubt for sure. If not Sarah Everhardt will rock it out.
 
layman said:
This whole...only been back on the ice for three weeks thing sounds concerning and USFS telling Isabeau not to attempt triple-triples (at this minor competition) seems like false concern. If she is not yet fit to do triple-triples, why is she competing here at all? If USFS were really in Isabeau's corner, they would advise her to take the rest of the season off to truly heal. We all saw how coming back too soon from injury (and getting the wrong advice) derailed the skating careers of Bradie Tennell and Ting Cui for years. Gracie Gold talked about how 2-faced and cutthroat the USFS is in her book.
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or she told them "this is what i can do" and they said "sounds great go do it" and she won a silver medal so it seems like a winning strategy
 
AngieNikodinovLove (ANL) said:
Only one run through? Wow I don’t know if I would’ve gone. Good for her though.

Oh, it was an obligation by the US Federation to go there and show triples. Interesting

I hope for the best by also hope this doesn’t turns into a Rachel situation.
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Rachael Flatt got in trouble because she didn’t disclose (or hid) the extent of her injury. Isabeau appears to be open and honest about her status. Whether USFS has the guts to pull her a couple of weeks before worlds if Sarah looks like a better option is another story.
 
Levito did a 3F+2A in the second half. Sarah Everhardt doesn't attempt a triple-triple combination in her free skate, and the math doesn't necessarily require one.

One option for Levito is to replace the solo double axel with a triple toe, and then do 3F+2A+2A in the second half of the program. If she can do that comfortably, I'd recommend it given that she has been prone to underrotating the back half of her 3Lz+3T and 3F+eu+3S combos this season.
 
She should repeat the flip and either the Sal or Toe, and do one of those 3x+2a+2a as her first pass because that will be her biggest point getter.

I wouldn't plan on her having the stamina to pull it off as her 5th jumping pass.

Also, doing any kind of loop jump as 2nd or 3rd jump in combination seems like a bad idea on a newly healed foot.

She got a < on her 3loop as her 2nd pass in thr FS. Not sure if something went wrong or this is a chronic thing with her or the 3loop isn't back yet.
 
Private Citizen said:
Levito did a 3F+2A in the second half. Sarah Everhardt doesn't attempt a triple-triple combination in her free skate, and the math doesn't necessarily require one.
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Coco said:
She got a < on her 3loop as her 2nd pass in thr FS. Not sure if something went wrong or this is a chronic thing with her or the 3loop isn't back yet.
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She did the 3flip/3loop in practice the other day, so I don't think it was due to not having the loop back yet. She may have been nervous or it may just be due to the lack of runthroughs. I can't imagine competing a program after doing one runthrough in three months. These are tough circumstances to skate under. She's definitely doing everything the federation is telling her to do, even down to what specific combo to include in the program. I feel really bad for her, but better this season than next season.
 
Interesting. No one talking about Lui/Tennel. Switched places form the nationals to 4CC. If I were Tennel I`d let this season go. Concentrate until next season on making sure she is fit and getting in a second 3/3. If the Russians stay out of it it`s 2016. Someone with two 3/3`s might make it to Olys.
 
If Ava comes back strong from injury as others have, next year will be a bloodbath at Nats.

Just as with US ice dance, strong domestic competition makes a much stronger international team. We are much better positioned than in 2022, when both Karen and Mariah were very vulnerable on any given day. And of course, at worst there will be only one starved Russian instead of three.

I’m a Kaori uber but she’s vulnerable without a 3A or quad and unpredictable material.
 
Congratulations to Bradie Tennell. She skated her LP with speed and attack (like she had nothing to lose) and pulled way up from 5th to 2nd! I am so proud of her! She is ending her season on a high note!

I am also proud of Alysa Liu. She skated really well in both programs. I saw more confidence here than I saw from her at Nationals (where she looked surprised to be on the podium). She did not run out of gas at the end of her LP here (it even looked like she and her team changed the last spin so that there would be no mistakes on it here). She had that one small error in the long though, where she doubled a salchow and that probably cost her a medal. Even if she had gotten the salchow, it might not have been enough. I hope she and her team realize that she needs the triple axel (that she has been doing in practice) in her programs (to be a serious contender). Alysa still has several weeks to make improvements for Worlds.

I am also proud of Sarah Everhardt (I just caught myself because I almost typed Sarah Hughes)! She has shown her consistency over and over and over and over again this season. I think she has been on the podium in every contest that she has entered.

I always marvel at how high Sarah jumps. The spring and pop that she gets in her jumps is really impressive. With that said, I do see room for improvement. I can't un-see her bent free-leg. I wish Sarah would spend some time working with Ting Cui (who trains in her group) on developing a better free-leg position and pointing her toes to extend her lines. This one thing would make her skating look a 1000x more impressive. Ting could also work with Sarah on her expression, posture and her port de bras. I see so much potential in Sarah Everhardt. She is having a fantastic Senior Debut Season!
 
SkateFanBerlin said:
Interesting. No one talking about Lui/Tennel. Switched places form the nationals to 4CC. If I were Tennel I`d let this season go. Concentrate until next season on making sure she is fit and getting in a second 3/3. If the Russians stay out of it it`s 2016. Someone with two 3/3`s might make it to Olys.
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A second triple-triple does her no good over her current 3Lz+3T, and 3Lo+2A. Unless she adds a triple axel, the only way she could upgrade her technical content is by moving the combinations to the second half of the program.
 
SkateFanBerlin said:
Interesting. No one talking about Lui/Tennel. Switched places form the nationals to 4CC. If I were Tennel I`d let this season go. Concentrate until next season on making sure she is fit and getting in a second 3/3. If the Russians stay out of it it`s 2016. Someone with two 3/3`s might make it to Olys.
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What a problem with American waist!! Liu didn’t even mail it to her Emails.
 
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